Method of manufacturing artificial wood



FFICE.

' JAGGB'MELLINGER, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL WOOD.

mentors i arm-mg m of 1mm; Patent No. 504,988, dated September when and m amass. send mt 476,145. on) iMmona.) a r 6 To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that], JACOB MELLINGER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, 1n the State of Maryland, have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Methods of Manufacturing Artificial Wood; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to artificial wood, and the method of manufacturing the same, which will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to produce antiseptic, flexible wood especially adapted for serviceWifigTpavements for side walks, railroad ties, and many other purposes, which shall possess the desirable properties of being light in weight, fire and waterproof, and preventive of decay. Artificial wood produced in accordance with my invention is capable of being sawed, bored, planed, split in the direction of its length, or worked and used in various other ways the same as natural wood.

In the manufacture of artificial wood I util-' ize tan-bark, wood, straw, aper or even cotton waste as the vehicle whic orrns the b7363 of the wood, and with this waste matter I incorporate certain ingredients wbich produce a .pulp that is molded, pressed and dried, thereby producing artificial wood having the properties of flexibility, proof against fire, water and decay, and light in weight.

My composition for artificial wood consists of the following ingredients, in the proportions specified,to wit:borax one (1) pound; alum. two (2) pounds; ca'rbonate of otassium, one half (4;) of a pound;"sul n' HIGVZJQC one half er a pound; sodimm'de 3 pounds; bicarbonate sodiu onell) pound;

ilicate oi sodium, 51553 $0) pounds; 1 Eweniy-Hv'iz-Bi pounds; lini fifteen 1% pounds; water one (1) gallon, and one hundred 311623951150 pounds of tan bark, pig og, straw, paper, cotton waste, or'equivalen 'su mes.

In carrying my invention into practice I produce a solutio by dissolvin in one {1-) ter the folle wing ingregallon of ure wa d1ents:-5orax, one II} pound; alum two (2) tion I do not strictly po dnds'; carbonate of otassium one-half (-3) pound; s'ui iiaie' zinc one'iiali 1%) pound; sodium chioride ihreo (3) pounds; and

bi-c oua e 0 so in one (1) pound. I the n t is 1r y pounosof liopig silk-51g f sgg'w andthoroughlymixit Wl-til t esolnti n a ove nagpeg, after which I add twenty five m poun s of l e of thirty-five per cent. (35%).

I prefer use out tan bark as the vehicle for the chemicals 51in which forms the body of the product, although either ofthe other waste substances hereinbefore named may be used in lieu thereof. 1 take one hundred and fifty pounds of scent tan bark which is thoroughly dried an pu verize \Vith this tan bark is thoroughly mixed fifteen pounds of slaked lime which has been previonsly'drie a1 pu verized. To this mixture of tan bark and lime,

duce a pulp. The pulp thus formed is placed in any suitable kind of mold and is subjected to pressure, after which it is removed and dried. I prefer to subject the pulp while in the molds to a pressure of three hundred (300) tons, but Ido not strictly confine myself to this particular pressure as the same can be varied.

The W and lye incorporated with the fibrous ma erial tb p1"'oduce the pulp from which the product is made by, molding under pressure, serve to render the wood flexible or pliable, and in this conneclimit myself to the use of ingredients to render the wood antiseptic, water proof and fire proof.

The sulphate of zinc and sodium sulphate render the wood w atdrprooffaiuitfandfsiyrs cate of sodium make it fire proof; sodium 'EhTfidiidb'i-oarbonate of sodiumi fider "th'WFocTantiWelime and silicatp of sodium are the binding n'iediTims to cause the mass to adhere, the latter silicateof sp; dinm) also serving as an incombustible agent. is evident that the proportions of some, if not all, of the several ingredients can be changed without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention. I

I add the solution reviouslv re ared and mix the mass very horouglifigi'y m mg or agitating it, to pro- Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The process of making artificial wood 5 which consists in mixing lime with a fibrous material; producinga solution containing borax, alum, carbonate of potassium, sulphate zinc, sodium chloride, bicarbonate sodium, silicate of sodium, and lye; producing a pulp no by mixing said solution with the lime and fibrous matei'iaLaud finally moldingthe pulp and subjecting it to pressure, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. A composition of matter for making artificial wood, consisting of a suitable fibrous material, borazx, alum, carbonate ot potassium, sulphate ofiszilm, sodium chloride, bicarbonate of sodium, silicate of sodium, lye, lime and water, substantially as and in the proportions specified.

In testimony'whereof I afiix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

- 7 JACOB MELLINGER.

Witnesses:

Jos. FORREST, H. T. BEMHORD. 

